


City of Lost Children

by sister_wolf



Category: Batman (Comics), DCU (Comics)
Genre: Dead Robins, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-01-22
Updated: 2005-01-22
Packaged: 2017-10-12 03:36:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/120330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sister_wolf/pseuds/sister_wolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She still can't quite believe she's hanging out on a rooftop talking to fucking <em>Jason Todd</em>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	City of Lost Children

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers for War Games.

"So you're the new Robin, huh?" the kid asks, scowling at her belligerently. Steph shrugs and kicks a little at the brick wall. They're sitting on the edge of a roof, fifteen stories above the streets of what, despite all appearances, is most definitely _not_ Gotham.

"Kind of. Well. I _was_ , and then I fucked it up and Batman fired me." And then, after everything-- everything she _really_ doesn't want to think about right now-- she woke up _here_. Wherever that is.

"Heh. He does that a lot. I never worried too much about it." The kid grins at her, and it's a surprisingly wide, sunny smile, though there's an edge to it that feels more like a tooth-bared snarl than a Colgate commercial.

"And then... Jesus. I fucked _everything_ up. And now... am I dead?" Stephanie hugs herself under the cape.

"Shit, I dunno." He props his elbow on a drawn-up knee, gesturing expansively with the other hand. It's so strange, seeing a Robin who's so-- _expressive_. Not like Tim. "Probably? This place is so weird, but I don't _think_ it's-- heaven or hell or whatever. But yeah, you're probably dead. I mean, everyone else here is. _I_ am."

"Yeah, I um... I didn't really want to mention it. But yeah. You're dead." She still can't quite believe she's hanging out on a rooftop talking to fucking _Jason Todd_. The original Dead Robin, though she supposes now that Batman has two of them-- oh, hell. Is he gonna put her costume in a Case too? She kinda doubts she'd get as nice an epitaph as "A Good Soldier," though. Maybe "Didn't Kill Hundreds of People On _Purpose_." Nah, probably Batman just threw her spare Robin suits in the trash. Burnt them, even.

"In just about every timeline that I've heard of. Lousy luck, I guess." He glances over at her, and his mouth quirks at her look of surprise. "Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention that. We're not all from the same timeline. In _some_ timelines, I wasn't even Robin. Still dead, though."

"That really sucks." She wonders if there's a timeline where she wasn't Robin-- where she _didn't_ practically burn Gotham to the ground. Where she's just plain Stephanie Brown, part-time second-rate vigilante. God, she hopes so.

"Yeah, well. Ya get used to it." The kid-- _Jason Todd_ , and she's not sure _how_ long it's going to take her to get used to _that_ \-- rolls to his feet and offers her a hand up. "C'mon, I'll show you around. Introduce you to the other dead sidekicks."

"There's _other_ dead sidekicks here?" Steph can feel her eyebrows trying to merge with her hairline.

"Yeah, it's a trip. Some of these guys' costumes--" Jason shakes his head, grinning. "And I thought the little green _hotpants_ were bad."

Steph snickers. "My dad always used to call them panties."

Jason punches her in the shoulder, not lightly. "Yeah, nice miniskirt, _Robin_. Man, his costume-designing skills have _not_ improved over the years."

"Hey! _I_ designed this costume!" Hands on her hips, Steph glares at him.

Jason laughs at her and fires a line into the air. "Come _on_ , Robin! Last one there's a rotten--"

Laughing, Steph runs to the edge of the roof and launches herself into the air, firing her own line at the last second, and they're _flying_.

**Author's Note:**

> Sequel: [Lost Boys and Girls](http://archiveofourown.org/works/120333)


End file.
